NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program (ExEP) Mission Star List for the Habitable Worlds Observatory (2023)

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Auteurs principaux: Mamajek, Eric, Stapelfeldt, Karl
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Mamajek, Eric
Stapelfeldt, Karl
author_facet Mamajek, Eric
Stapelfeldt, Karl
contents The Astro 2020 Decadal Survey "Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s" has recommended that "after a successful mission and technology maturation program, NASA should embark on a program to realize a mission to search for biosignatures from a robust number of about ~25 habitable zone planets and to be a transformative facility for general astrophysics," and prescribing that the high-contrast direct imaging mission would have "a target off-axis inscribed diameter of approximately 6 meters." The Decadal Survey assumed an exo-Earth frequency of ~25%, requiring that approximately 100 cumulative habitable zones of nearby stars should be surveyed. Surveying the nearby bright stars, and taking into account inputs from the LUVOIR and HabEx mission studies (but without being overly prescriptive in the required starlight suppression technology or requirements), we compile a list of 164 stars whose exo-Earths would be the most accessible for a systematic imaging survey of habitable zones with a 6-m-class space telescope in terms of angular separation, planet brightness in reflected light, and planet-star brightness ratio. We compile this star list to motivate observations and analysis to help inform observatory design (mission-enabling "precursor science") and enhance the science return of the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) survey for exo-Earths (mission-enhancing "preparatory science"). It is anticipated that this list of target stars and their properties will be updated periodically by the NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2402_12414
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program (ExEP) Mission Star List for the Habitable Worlds Observatory (2023)
Mamajek, Eric
Stapelfeldt, Karl
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
The Astro 2020 Decadal Survey "Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s" has recommended that "after a successful mission and technology maturation program, NASA should embark on a program to realize a mission to search for biosignatures from a robust number of about ~25 habitable zone planets and to be a transformative facility for general astrophysics," and prescribing that the high-contrast direct imaging mission would have "a target off-axis inscribed diameter of approximately 6 meters." The Decadal Survey assumed an exo-Earth frequency of ~25%, requiring that approximately 100 cumulative habitable zones of nearby stars should be surveyed. Surveying the nearby bright stars, and taking into account inputs from the LUVOIR and HabEx mission studies (but without being overly prescriptive in the required starlight suppression technology or requirements), we compile a list of 164 stars whose exo-Earths would be the most accessible for a systematic imaging survey of habitable zones with a 6-m-class space telescope in terms of angular separation, planet brightness in reflected light, and planet-star brightness ratio. We compile this star list to motivate observations and analysis to help inform observatory design (mission-enabling "precursor science") and enhance the science return of the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) survey for exo-Earths (mission-enhancing "preparatory science"). It is anticipated that this list of target stars and their properties will be updated periodically by the NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program.
title NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program (ExEP) Mission Star List for the Habitable Worlds Observatory (2023)
topic Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.12414